


Embracing Darkness

by WhiteWolf14



Category: Legacies (TV 2018), The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Bipolar Disorder, Dark Hope Mikaelson, Dark Lizzie Saltzman, F/F, F/M, Heretics, M/M, Other, Potentionally Time Travel, Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted (Vampire Diaries), Siphoners (Vampire Diaries), Uncle-Niece Relationship, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, Won't be for awhile
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29306073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteWolf14/pseuds/WhiteWolf14
Summary: "See, when your family decides that you're nothing but an irredeemable piece of trash, well, guess the best thing to do is prove them right, right?" - Kai ParkerLizzie had tried to play the hero. She had tried to be the 'good girl'. Yet no matter how much she tried, it didn't matter. She would always be the crazy Saltzman twin in the eyes of everyone else. So why fight it?(Dark Lizzie Saltzman & Dark Hope Mikaelson Fanfic)
Relationships: Caroline Forbes & Josie Saltzman, Caroline Forbes & Lizzie Saltzman, Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Hope Mikaelson & Klaus Mikaelson, Hope Mikaelson & Lizzie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman, Josie Saltzman & Lizzie Saltzman, Malachai "Kai" Parker & Lizzie Saltzman, Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 5
Kudos: 38





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Legacies. The only thing I own is the storyline and changes to the plot.

* * *

You know, if you're a child who was diagnosed as a sociopath, that would screw you up, right?

Well, when Lizzie's parents found that out about her, they completely lost their shit and went searching for a cure, like it wasn't a mental disorder that was unfixable.

So when they failed in their 'quest'..over and over, they turned to magic like the idiots they clearly were.

It wasn't long before they found a witch that specialized in magic that dealt with the brain and he offered a solution, and Lizzie's parents immediately took him up on the offer, despite his warnings that changing one's brain was not something to take lightly. He warned that by forcing away that side of her, it could make her unstable emotionally.

They continued with this course of action and the sociopathic side of Lizzie was locked away, trapped in her own mind, which made her parents so happy but what they didn't realize was that 'she' was still very awake, forced to watch the rest of her self carry on with her life.

'Her' anger grew but she was trapped. Chained down and suppressed. However, she had one hope. When that side of Lizzie was locked away, it caused a chain reaction and she became overly emotional.

She became bipolar

And whenever Lizzie had an episode, the chains holding that part of her self down started to chip away but they never broke...

Until finally, Lizzie broke them herself...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Legacies. Nor do I own any media used in the story. I own the plot divergence and ideas. I also own this book and this storyline.


	2. Breaking the chains

* * *

**“See, when you’re family decides that you’re nothing but an irredeemable piece of trash, well, guess the best thing to do is prove them right, right?” - Kai Parker**

* * *

What did it mean to be a bad person? What made someone good? Or the so-called hero? What made people hurt others? What did it cost them?

What did it cost Josie?

Nothing apparently…

She was the good twin. The one that got along with everyone. The one that everyone loved. The one that everyone would forgive.

No matter what she did. Josie was a good person, who made mistakes to save her loved ones. Not that she probably wasn’t affected by the fact that she killed Alyssa.

Lizzie knew she probably was but she had everyone hovering over her shoulder telling her repeatedly that it was the black magic’s fault. That she wasn’t to blame.

Then Josie went and gave up her siphoner powers, leaving Lizzie as the only siphoner alive. And to be honest, Lizzie found what she did to be cowardly. Josie gave up her powers because she was afraid of her addiction to black magic and didn’t want to face it. 

And with those actions, everyone celebrated her and her hard choice.

Lizzie never had the option to hide from what she was. She couldn’t hide from her own mind. Instead, she had to face it head-on and deal with the consequence that resulted from her actions.

Josie could run from black magic. While Lizzie was trapped. Forced to deal with her bipolar disorder at every corner.

Josie was forgiven for everything she did because she was under the influence. While Lizzie got blamed for everything, despite it being her fucking brain chemistry that was the problem.

Lizzie had to fight her own brain and thoughts that fought to overwhelm her at every second of every day. She dealt with the constant internal battle, even though a part of her wondered if it was even worth it.

No matter how hard she worked, Lizzie was constantly told that it wasn’t enough. That she wasn’t trying hard enough. 

And at this point, Lizzie was wondering at what point would her effort matter. When would it be enough?

Lizzie gritted her teeth in annoyance and shook her head. She didn’t need this, not right now. She was going down a dark tunnel that wouldn’t end well for her or anyone else. 

She took a deep breath and buried the emotions that wanted to explode out of her. It didn’t matter. None of it did.

Why should she care that no one cared that she died? It was over and done with, so it was time to move on.

Lizzie looked up and spotted Josie talking to their dad with the recently awoken Hope. She wasn't completely sure of the details of what happened with Hope and Landon but she knew it had something to do with a sleeping beauty ghost kiss or something.

She considered going over and talking to Hope, but then she remembered that was avoiding Josie and she wasn’t about to stop because she wanted to talk to Hope.

Lizzie stood up and walked out of the room, ignoring Josie’s eyes on her back. Was it wrong to avoid her sister that was going through shit? Maybe but Lizzie knew that anything she would do, would make it worse.

It was her greatest skill after all.

And she knew that people were confused about why she was avoiding her twin but she couldn’t exactly tell them that the merge was fucking with her head.

Why? Because she fucking lost.

That had made it clear to everyone that she was the weak twin. That she would never be as good as Josie. 

She didn’t care about what some witches said about how the black magic had made it unfair because there was no way Lizzie could be more powerful when Josiemort could literally take on Hope.

She didn’t care that that might be true because while it probably was, Lizzie still knew that she would still lose even if Josie didn’t have overpowered black magic in her. Which was a part of the reason she was staying away. 

The merge had failed, which meant it was still a go when they turned 22. And when that time came, Lizzie would die. Again.

And she didn’t know how to talk to Josie when every part of her screamed that she was a threat that needed to be dealt with.

Her crazy ass mind had decided that Josie was her enemy and she couldn’t convince it otherwise.

Whenever she walked by her, her mind whispered how easy it would be to snap her neck. All it would take was a flick of a wrist and no more danger.

Lizzie’s nails dug into her palms as she walked down the hallway. Everything was on high alert. Her mind. Her magic that she wasn’t even aware she siphoned. Everything.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a group of witches that she typically didn’t interact with. Lizzie felt herself slow as their quiet words reached her ears. Her hands were clenched so tight, her palms were white.

_No wonder she lost._ Breathe...

_Abomination._ Her palms were wet. Blood? Oh, she broke skin...

_The evil twin._ Her head hurt. Why did her head hurt?

_She’s crazy, isn’t she?_ Her vision was unfocused. Something in her mind seemed to strain.

Her skin vibrated. Wait. No. Not her skin. Her magic.

_Would have been better if she stayed dead._ The words washed over her.

She let go.

The lights shattered.

Books were thrown from the shelves.

Lizzie thought she heard screams. She glanced to the right. 

Numb.

The girls from earlier were now huddled together staring at her in horror. They were terrified. Good.

She could feel the fear radiating off of them. Wait..feel? Strange.

Lizzie felt a wave of euphoria and power course through her. 

Oh. She was siphoning again.

The magic swelled up, feeling like a balloon in her chest. They thought she was crazy...so she would give them crazy.

She met each one of their eyes, feeling a strange calm wash over her. Her anger at their words seemed distant now.

The pain in her head seemed to grow stronger. 

**Hurt them.** What?

Lizzie tilted her head at the foreign thought. It was her voice yet not. A whisper in the dark.

**They deserve it.** Well, the freaky voice wasn’t wrong.

Lizzie observed the witches as they plotted their escape. Her magic reached out and froze them in place. A part of her wondered why they did nothing to stop her. There were more of them.

**We’re stronger.** No we’re not...we’re the weak twin, right?

Lizzie ignored how fucked up she had to be, to be having a conversation with a random voice in her head.

**No.** No what? No, she wasn’t weak, or was it something else. 

Lizzie could feel a pressure building behind her eyes. Her magic shifted without her command. What?

Episode? **No.**

Something foreign reached out and a tingling feeling went through her body. Her magic expanded around her.

The room seemed to vibrate with the energy her magic created. She felt powerful. No. She was powerful.

Then the screams started.

Lizzie’s eyes snapped to the witches. Their skin was burning. Huh, it reminded her of when vampires stepped into the daylight without their rings.

She felt a twisted sense of amusement as she watched them plead for their lives. Why did they deserve her forgiveness? 

But did they deserve her angry? A distant part of her wondered.

**They need to learn.** Lizzie paused, glancing away from the witches, distantly realizing that there was no way that nobody heard their screams. Instead of thinking about that she focused on the voice. Learn what? **That they shouldn’t mess with their betters.**

Lizzie swallowed as she felt a sliver of thrill go up her spine at those words. Who was this? What was happening right now? How was this happening?

She felt stronger than she ever was before. Her magic which would fight her every command was now like an eager puppy ready to do whatever she wanted at a snap of her fingers. Why was this happening? Why now?

**You have to break them.** Break what? What is there to break?

The pressure behind her eyes was unbearable now. **The chains.**

“Lizzie?”

Lizzie spun on her heels, her magic pulling back as she did so. Standing there was Josie, whose hand was covering her mouth in horror.

**_Break them..._ **

Lizzie’s breath in was all she heard as her mouth opened. Her lungs expanded. Josie’s eyes widened in realization.

She screamed.

But this time her magic didn’t explode from her instead it went inward.

_Snap._

Her vision went black and the last thing she heard was her sister calling her name.

_‘A little girl was sitting in a chair, her legs swinging back and forth as she stared out the window. Most of those that saw her wouldn’t think any of her unless they saw her eyes._

_Her blue eyes that held an eerie intelligence that sent chills through anyone that saw them. So very different from the expressive eyes of most children._

_Her’s appeared almost blank at times. Only changing when overcome with feelings of rage or curiosity._

_The girl observed the people as they went by and every once in a while her expression would change in an attempt to copy the emotions she saw on their faces._

_The girl’s parents came out of the door they had previously entered, drawing the girl’s attention. Behind them was a man. A witch. The girl eyed him strangely._

_When the man looked at the girl, his face tightened and the girl noted how he swallowed thickly. He was afraid._

_Of her? Maybe...it would make sense. Most were afraid of her._

_The adults talked to each other. Then to her._

_They were going to be doing a ritual. One that would fix her. Make her like normal kids. But they didn’t ask her opinion._

_If they had, they would know she didn’t want this. Why would she want to be normal? Normal was gross._

_Normal was water leaking from Josie’s eyes. It was yelling when she didn’t get what she wanted. Normal was no control. It was stupidity. It was weakness. Why did she need to be normal?_

_She was fine with the way she was. Why couldn’t her parents be?_

_They were moved into a room. More talking._

_The witch guy did preparation. He was nervous. Was he not capable of doing the spell? Or did he think that they shouldn’t fix her?_

_The witch gave her something to drink. It was gross. The witch paused in what he was doing. Then he was arguing with her parents. Something about memory._

_A memory wipe? What was that? What did that mean for her?_

_The arguing stopped. The witch continued with the spell. Everything seemed to close in on her. Her head hurt._

_She felt angry. She wanted it to stop. Then she felt nothing. Then she felt everything._

_And everything went black.’_

_Lizzie gasped as she sat up abruptly. Her head spun as the memory processed and settled in her mind. What was that?_

_Was that her? It certainly looked like her. Unless she had a clone out there. Lizzie would have gone with an unknown twin but…_

_Lizzie felt her mind settle and she looked around. She was sitting on dirt. Around her were walls of dirt and rock. A cave maybe?_

_Everything around her was almost pitch black and Lizzie could barely see 3 feet ahead of her. The air was thick and Lizzie fought the urge to cough._

_She pushed herself to her feet. The memory of what happened flooded her, mixing with the vision -memory?- from earlier._

_Fuck, she was in so much trouble. May as well start digging her own grave._

_Chains rattled to her left. She turned startled and tried to see ahead of her but she couldn’t. Through the darkness, she spotted a figure._

_“Hey, shadow dementor person, you know creeping in the dark is considered rude,” Lizzie said, pushing down her nervousness._

_A chuckle echoed around her making the hairs of Lizzie’s arms stand on their ends._

_“Sorry, forgive my manners, it’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to talk to someone,” The person- feminine voice, maybe a girl?- said._

_Lizzie felt herself freeze. That voice...it was hers. And it was eerily similar to the one that was talking to her earlier._

_A snap of a finger sounded like a firework in her ear. The air shifted around her and suddenly Lizzie was blinded by a light. She closed her eyes, wincing slightly. When she opened her eyes she saw that torches, that she hadn’t known were there, were now lit._

_There were now shadows cast everywhere on the walls and her person but her eyes were drawn to the person in front of her._

_It was her._

_Except with darker blonde hair that was in a ponytail. The other her stared at her, smirking in amusement at the other’s shock. Dark make-up made for an overall dark appearance with the all-black outfit the other was wearing._

_Lizzie’s eyes were drawn to the broken chains that were wrapped around her wrists._

_“Who are you?” Lizzie whispered. The other girl laughed musically._

_“Don’t play stupid, it’s not a good look on us,” She said with a smile that seemed out of place on the otherwise blank face._

_Did she just say us? So this girl was her. Another literal version of her. Seriously and Josie wondered why she thought she was crazy._

_“So you’re me…” Lizzie said aloud._

_“Ding ding ding, we have a winner, guess emotions didn’t make you a complete idiot,” She said, tilting her head thoughtfully._

_Lizzie’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Emotions?” She repeated, raising her eyebrows at her other-self._

_The other girl rolled her eyes. “I see you didn’t pay attention to the memory-”_

_“So it was a memory,” Lizzie interrupted._

_“Obviously,” She said, looking bored as she picked at her nails._

_“Okay, that’s it. What is this? What are we? And use actual words evil me,” Lizzie said, crossing her arms over her chest._

_She considered her otherself. What to call the darker version of her? Elizabeth? No, too pretentious. Eliza? Eh, it fits. Sounds devilish._

_“Fine. Let me tell you a story,” The other-Eliza said, her voice taking on a more mysterious tone. “..Of a girl who was born a sociopath just like her dear uncle.”_

_Lizzie froze as those words registered. “What?”_

_“Hmm, this girl's early life was like any other, except for a few strange things. However, when she reached a certain age her parents realized there was something different about her. She didn’t behave like her twin sister and so they took her to a doctor and she was diagnosed with an extreme case conduct disorder,” Eliza said, circling her like a predator would its prey._

_“Us. You’re talking about us.” Lizzie said quietly._

_“Uh-huh, and when dear old mom and dad realized what we were likely to become, they began looking for a way to fix us,” She continued, stopping behind Lizzie. Her hand reached out. Hovered next to Lizzie’s neck. Almost touching but also not._

_There was a strange electricity-like feeling that sizzled in the empty air between their skin. It was like there was a pull trying to get them to touch. To connect. To merge?_

_Eliza moved away. Taking the feeling with her yet Lizzie could still feel the pull._

_Lizzie swallowed uncertainty. “What did they do to us?” She asked, softly._

_“They ruined us. They broke us. They made us weak,” She hissed out. Eliza moved so she was staring directly into Lizzie’s eyes. “They found a witch to split our mind and locked the ‘sociopathic’ part in the back of our mind. Ever wonder why we’re bipolar?”_

_Lizzie stared at Eliza, unsure of how to respond. It was all her parents' fault. They made her this way and they made her feel like it was her fault…_

_She took a step back. Then, another. Then, another. Her back hit the wall._

_She wasn’t supposed to be crazy. It was all their fault. All because she wasn’t like perfect Josette._

_Lizzie shook her head back and forth._

_“Now you understand,” Eliza said, crouching down in front of her. “What they did, ruined everything, we were strong. Because of what they did our magic became suppressed and weakened. Our control was destroyed and we were left flailing like a newborn chick.”_

_“Why is this happening now? Why are we able to talk now?” Lizzie asked, meeting Eliza’s eyes._

_Eliza straightened and began pacing. “I’m not a hundred percent sure. I think it’s a combination of things. Episodes and the merge being the main two. I’m pretty sure they’re what chipped away at the chains, weakening them.”_

_Lizzie looked up confused. “Wait, what do you mean by that?” She asked, looking at her otherself in confusion._

_“When they locked me away in our mind, I was chained down. Trapped. Able to see through your eyes but unable to reach you,” Eliza explained and Lizzie could see a simmering rage underneath the surface._

_“They imprisoned you in our own mind,” Lizzie realized darkly, feeling her own anger rise up, rolling beneath the surface._

_Eliza nodded. “Yeah, and every time you had an episode, the bonds started to chip away, slowly but surely. However, when the merge happened, it shattered most of the chains. Except for one.” She said, looking down at Lizzie._

_“That’s why you were able to talk to me,” Lizzie said in realization. And Eliza hummed in agreement. “Then, I was able to break the last bond.”_

_Eliza nodded and Lizzie leaned back against the wall, feeling exhausted._

_“So what happens now,” Lizzie asked, blinking rapidly to try and suppress the tears._

_“I mean, cause everything's different now. I-I can’t go back to how things were before, not with what I know now.”_

_“And you won’t. Neither of us will.” Eliza said firmly, making Lizzie look up at her. She gave her a dark smirk. “We’re going to stop playing by their rules. No more playing the game they created. Instead? We make our own.”_

_“How?” Lizzie asked, getting back to her feet._

_“We merge back together,” Eliza said, simply._

_Lizzie’s eyes widened and she immediately thought back to the electric feeling that had appeared when Eliza had almost touched her._

_“Will that mean we’ll re-become a sociopath?” Lizzie asked, moving to stand in front of herself._

_“No. You’ve had emotions for way too long for them to just disappear. More likely is that we’ll become somewhat sociopathic with strong emotions because our bipolar side isn’t going to disappear,” Eliza said in response._

_“Is that all that will happen?” Lizzie wondered, feeling curious._

_“Well our magic will be complete and no longer suppressed which will make us one of the most powerful witches at the school,” She said, smirking. And Lizzie knew she was doing the same._

_“How do we do this?” Lizzie asked, despite knowing the answer._

_Eliza's only response was to hold out her hands. Lizzie looked at them. Then she took them with no hesitation._

_Everything felt like it was on fire. A glowing light surrounded them as the wind picked up. Lizzie’s eyes blurred and she felt lightheaded._

_Her skin felt strange and her ears were ringing._

_Magic swirled around them creating an electric feeling. Her thoughts became muddled and disjointed._

_Trapped- No, safe. Rage at her parents-wait, no, love for her parents. Alone-no, hurt. She wanted revenge or was it to be accepted._

_Everything was blending together. Thoughts. Feelings. Plans. Everything was everything. And nothing was nothing._

_Then it was over…_

“Lizzie?”

Her eyes snapped open.


End file.
